


Hey, Stranger

by sunnyangel (orphan_account)



Series: it was my first love [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Clubbing, M/M, Roadtrip, pls drink responsively, racer!jaehyun, sudden marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25144780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sunnyangel
Summary: “I don’t know how to break it to you so I’m going straight to the point. I think we’re married.““Lol, nah.”
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Series: it was my first love [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821496
Comments: 12
Kudos: 103





	Hey, Stranger

“You sure you got everything?” Doyoung asks as he settles down the last box of Taeyong’s belongings onto the floor. It falls from his hands with a faint thud.

Taeyong stretches his arms above his head with a yawn. “Yeah, I’m good. I just need to unpack everything and tidy up.”

“Do you need any help?” Doyoung offers. He stares at the abundance of boxes lying around the fully furnished unit. “This might take some time.”

Taeyong shakes his head and waves both of his hands at his best friend. “No, no, it’s fine,” he says. “Yuta’s waiting for you, right? You should go now, you don’t want to be late.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine, Doie! I’m a big boy!” Taeyong chuckles, placing both his hands on his hips. “I can manage from here, don’t worry.”

“Are you sure?” Doyoung glances at the boxes once again, reluctant to leave his friend alone. Taeyong has a habit of getting himself into concerning situations when he is all by himself. “You’re not going to trip and break your neck?”

Taeyong huffs at him before rolling his eyes. “I won’t! Now get going! Your boyfriend’s waiting for you!”

Taeyong gently pushes Doyoung towards the front door, an ear splitting grin resting across his face. Doyoung frowns at him, protesting quietly about how he might mess up his new place if he does everything in a day, and alone, too. Not that he doesn’t trust Taeyong to take care of himself knowing he’s a fully grown functioning adult, but the latter does tend to get himself into all sorts of trouble that is, most of the time, too absurd to even talk about.

“Bye, Doie! Thanks for the help!” Taeyong waves at his friend. Doyoung stand outside the doorway, sighing loudly with his lips pursed into a thin line. “Now, get going. Yuta wouldn’t want to be kept waiting.”

Doyoung shakes his head. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will,” Taeyong nods. “Also, I think I left one of my jackets at your place the last time we had dinner there?”

“Yeah, you did. I’ll hand it over to you next time.”

Taeyong nods at him before thanking Doyoung once again. He waves goodbye at his friend as he watches him retreat quietly in the empty hallways. He closes the door after a few moments, clicking it locked, before walking towards some of the boxes lying across the floor.

The new place he got is a small rent-to-own condominium unit at the heart of the city. It took him a while to save up, but after getting promotions after promotions in his job, he figures he would finally manage to get a better place than his crappy one room studio apartment near his old university. At least now, he wouldn’t have to take multiple rides at the earliest morning just to arrive on time to his work.

Taeyong kneels over a box before pulling the scotch tape attached to it and yanking it open. He sees a bunch of his old books neatly tucked inside. He pulls out three paperbacks, taking his time to even read the synopsis while nodding to himself. He barely remembers the contents of the books, but he figures they were at least good stories for him to still keep them around and not donate them to a charity. He sets the books down onto the floor and reaches inside the box one again.

He pulls out a few more similar books, muttering quietly to himself while he continues to read some of them. He sits quietly on the floor, legs tucked beneath him like a cat.

“Huh,” he says softly to himself after pulling out some of his old journals. He recognizes a few of them. “I don’t remember packing these with me.”

He flips open one of his journals, reading through some of the stuff he wrote inside. Most of it were gibberish; random notes during his college days. He would see a few doodles here and there, but nothing too significant that concerns him today.

Humming, Taeyong empties his first box. He gently pushes it away from him before proceeding to pick up some of the books he brought with him. He stands up from his spot with a grunt, knees cracking loudly, before walking over to a nearby white wooden shelf attached under the flat screen television hanging on the wall of his living room.

He returns to his pile of books and journals and does the same thing a few more times before he pulls another box towards him. He reaches out to grab the empty box lying near him and was about to set it aside when he notices a small and crumpled paper lying inside. Curious, he picks it up and unfolds it.

Taeyong’s legs go cold. Holy shit.

He shoots up to his feet, a small yelp escaping from his lips as his knees start to tremble. Quickly, he grabs his phone from the coffee table and presses Doyoung’s contact in a hurry. While the other line is ringing, he reads the cursive fonts more carefully.

_Certificate of Marriage_

This is to certify that

_Jaehyun and Taeyong_

were unified in marriage at the…

“What the fuck?” Taeyong whispers, phone still pressed at the side of his face. “Who the hell is Jaehyun?”

From the other line, Doyoung picks up. _“I’ve only been gone for almost an hour!”_ He complains loudly. “ _What is it?”_

Taeyong whimpers and bites his lower lip. “I’m married!” He cries out. He hears a shuffle from the other line, promptly picking up Yuta whispering while Doyoung mutters a few complains.

_“What are you talking about? What do you mean you’re married? You don’t even have a boyfriend!”_

“I found a marriage certificate in one of my boxes!” Taeyong places a hand onto his forehead. “It says I got married at this place, I don’t know! I don’t remember doing or even agreeing to this, Doie!”

_“Are you even sure the certificate is legit?”_

“I don’t know!” Taeyong shrieks. He continued to stare at the piece of paper. “I don’t even know who this person is!”

_“Babe, we need to— Wait, Taeyong, one second.”_

Taeyong hears another set of shuffling from the other line. The date printed out on the piece of paper said _June 14, 2020,_ already more than a week ago. He notices an unfamiliar signature scribbled beside his in a blotted jet black ink. He also read another unfamiliar name, _Johnny Suh,_ but he chose to ignore it instead. He flips the paper and sees a badly written side note with a bunch of numbers at the bottom.

_“Best night everrrrr ;) ;) ;)_

_011 3452 5674”_

“Ah! Doyoung, there’s a contact number written at the back!” He exclaims.

_“What? Whose number?”_

“Probably the Jaehyun guy!”

_“Who?”_

Taeyong ends the call abruptly, staring at the paper for a few more moments, bewilderment and confusion evident on his face. Just… What the hell happened?

Doyoung and Yuta arrived at his place half an hour later, both generally confused—but not really surprised—at what he’s gotten himself into. Yuta scratches the back of his head while he waits for his boyfriend. Doyoung, being the ever so loyal friend he is, patiently listened to Taeyong lose his mind.

“Okay, first of all, Taeyong,” Doyoung sighs, hands resting on his hips. “You need to get that certificate checked, see if it’s valid or not. And second, why the _fuck_ did you even think this is a good idea?”

“I told you, Doie! I don’t remember anything! And the paper says it happened more than a week ago! News flash, I don’t remember anything from a week ago other than working overtime for five straight days.”

“Didn’t you go to a bar with some of your colleagues around that time?” Yuta interjects. Both Taeyong and Doyoung turns to him. “I remember you asking Doyoung and I if we wanted to come.”

Doyoung turns sharply to Taeyong. “Don’t tell me you got hitched with a stranger you met at a club!”

Taeyong bites his lower lip. To be truthful, he really does not remember anything _at all._ He rarely goes clubbing, and if he does, he doesn’t usually get himself stupidly drunk to not remember anything the next day and the days after. He remembers Jongin and Baekhyun inviting him to go with them, but that was it. He didn’t have the strength to turn down their offer considering the both of them are his seniors.

Ugh.

“Why don’t you try contacting the number?” Yuta offers. “Send them a text? See if they’ll respond?”

Taeyong shuts his eyes, running both of his hands across his face.

When the night rolled around, he decided to take Yuta’s advice and send the number a quick text message.

**_Taeyong_ **

**_Good evening! Is this Jaehyun?_ **

****

Taeyong hits send and stares at the blue bubble for what seemed like an hour although only a few minutes passed in reality. The _delivered_ status changes into _seen,_ quickly followed by the appearance of typing bubbles. Taeyong holds his breath in anticipation.

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Yeah_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Who is this?_ **

****

**_Taeyong_ **

**_Hi! My name is Taeyong. I know this might be weird, but do you happen to remember me from last week? I think there’s a mishap and I wanted to talk to you about it._ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Sorry, I don’t remember you_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_What is it, though?_ **

****

**_Taeyong_ **

**_I don’t know how to break it to you so I’m going straight to the point. I think we’re married._ **

****

Taeyong quickly snaps a photo of the marriage certificate and sends it to “Jaehyun”. He waits for a while, watching as the typing bubble appears and disappears repeatedly. After a couple of minutes, the man finally replied.

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Lol nah_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_That can’t be real_ **

****

**_Taeyong_ **

**_I don’t know either, which is why I’m informing you. Your number was written at the back, so I figured I might as well contact you to see if you know anything about this? Sorry, I just really can’t afford this kind of distraction for my work._ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Have it checked and let me know if it’s real_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Then we’ll talk_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Haha_ **

****

Taeyong sighs loudly. This is going to be _really_ difficult.

-

“It’s real!” Taeyong practically cries over the phone, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. He was glad he called in sick for work today. There is no way in hell he’ll go to work in his current state. “Doie, what do I do?!”

_“Oh, shit,”_ he hears Doyoung from the other line. _“How did you know?”_

“I got it checked at the municipal hall,” Taeyong calls for a taxi as he steps out of the building. “Doie, what do I do?”

_“Have you talked to the guy? You contacted him last night, right? Tell him!”_

“But what if he doesn’t believe me?” Taeyong grabs the door handle and pulls it open. He quickly greets the driver, promptly telling him his destination, before speaking to his phone again, “What if that’s not even him? I don’t want to get scammed!”

_“Taeyong, listen to me. What you’re going to do is contact the guy and meet him personally in a public place. You need to fix this!”_

Taeyong blinks away his tears and nods to himself. He drops the call after a while and quickly gathers his thoughts. _You can do this, Taeyong. You’re a smart and responsible adult._

“Am I, though?” He whispers to himself, doubtful. Sure, he’s smart, but is he responsible? Surely, no responsible adult would get themselves into this sort of trouble.

Taeyong scrolls through his messages and clicks on the unregistered number. He stares at the last message he received. _Haha._

“Haha?” He scoffs to himself. “Let’s see how you’ll react once I tell you the news!”

He quickly types a message on his phone, muttering absentmindedly to himself. The taxi driver spares him a glance every now and then, growing quite concerned at the young man sitting inside his cab. He wonders if Taeyong is slowly growing crazy, or if he already is. He decides not to pry.

“There,” Taeyong hits the _send_ button.

**_Taeyong_ **

**_Good morning. I had the certificate checked and I was told that it is indeed legit. Please let me know when you will be available so we can meet in person and finally set this matter in hand. This is serious._ **

****

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Hahahahaha_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Really?_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_That’s weird as fuck_ **

****

Taeyong bites back a groan. He continues to tap furiously on his phone screen.

**_Taeyong_ **

**_Please set a time and date. I would like to settle this as soon as possible._ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Ok_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_[location]_ **

****

Taeyong furrows his eyebrows. A motorsports theme park?

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_There’s a race today_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_You can come and watch. If you don’t want to, you can wait for me at the restaurant near the racing circuit haha_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_This is so weird lol_ **

****

Taeyong huffs and stuffs his phone back into his pocket. He arrives at his destination a few minutes later, seeing the familiar entrance to his building. He quickly pays the driver before stepping outside. Instead of walking back inside the building though, he proceeds to walk to the nearest bus stop. It will only take him about an hour and a half to get to the location he was sent, and he supposes an hour and a half is already enough for him to think about the possibilities just in case everything goes wrong.

Is he really that dumb to let himself get hitched while drunk? Perhaps, he is. Still, he remembers nothing from the previous nights _at all._

What even happened?

Taeyong boards the bus not long after and sits on an empty seat near the back. He scoots beside the window and rests his head onto the headrest with a sigh. He remains quiet during the entire ride, checking his phone every once in a while to respond to Doyoung’s messages. He falls asleep halfway through the ride, only waking up when he feels a light tap on his shoulder.

Taeyong feels his face heat up as he thanks the older woman with a shy bow. “Thank you,” he chuckles before standing up from his seat.

It took him a few more minutes of wandering around before finally arriving at his destination. He spots a few tourists wandering around before entering the hotel that is a part of the said theme park. He’s quite glad he wore decent clothes for today despite not having to go to work, because he is surely not about to enter a seemingly expensive hotel while looking like a ragged doll.

He enters the place quietly, looking around the place as if he’s never been in a hotel before. He’s been to several business trips, but they never really stayed at such a grand place.

He approaches the lady at the front desk. “Uhm, good morning,” he says. The lady politely turns to him and greets him back. “May I know where the, uhm, race track is?”

“For the race, Sir?”

“Yes…”

The lady from the front desk pulls out a brochure for him. “It is right here, near the restaurant.”

Taeyong nods and follows the instructions given to him. He thanks the lady with a bow before turning on his heels and walking towards the nearest exit. It wasn’t that difficult for him to find the racing circuit, but the amount of tourists and other people flocking to see the tournament made his head pound with anticipation. How is he supposed to find Jaehyun here?

There were around a few dozens of sports cars lined up at their stations lined up and ready to go. Taeyong groans inwardly as he shuffles through the crowd. He quickly walks to the side and pulls out his phone.

**_Taeyong_ **

**_I’m here. Where are you?_ **

****

Taeyong starts to look around the place, hoping to see someone familiar enough to spark his memories. What is that Jaehyun guy even doing here, anyway? Does he even like watching auto racing?

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_The race is about to start_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_Ttyl_ **

****

**_+011 3452 5674_ **

**_I’m the one in the Repsol suit_ **

****

Taeyong furrows his eyebrows. Repsol suit? He lowers his phone and scans the field where the race track is located. He walks over the grandstand and carefully walks down the stairs to look for any vacant seats. When he finds one, he quickly excuses himself to sit down beside a bunch of cackling teenagers.

“Dude, come on! Your bet is seriously on Cha Eunwoo?”

Taeyong turns to the kid sitting beside him. He had a mop of curly hair sitting on top of his head while he bickers with one of his friends.

“Cha Eunwoo is a great racer!” His friend complains. “Of course I would bet on him!”

“Yeah, right,” the kid beside Taeyong snorts. “Jung Jaehyun’s competing today, too.”

“Oh, fuck. He is?”

Taeyong feels his ears ring at the familiar name. “Uh, excuse me?” He says quietly.

The group of teenagers all turn to him. The curly haired kid raises an eyebrow. Taeyong glances at the kid’s t-shirt and sees a badly scribbled _Mark Lee_ written at the hem of his sleeve.

“Uh,” Taeyong tries to think of a good excuse. “My friend and I are about to bet on who’s going to win. Can you help me? I’m quite new to this, uhm, racing stuff.”

“Go for Jung Jaehyun,” a blonde girl in pigtails chirps. “He’s great!”

“Not as great as Park Chanyeol!” Another boy points to the large screen showing all of the players’ names. “He’s _the_ greatest.”

Mark Lee, Taeyong supposes, scoffs at them. “Please! Jung Jaehyun could beat all of his opponents _easily_! He’s never had a loss before! Right, Yerim?”

The blonde girl nods at him, eyes sparkling in adoration as she glances at the field. She lets out a gasp. “It’s starting! Look!”

Taeyong turns to look at the lined up cars. The revving of engines filled the whole grandstand with adrenaline, spectators all cheering for the players they were rooting for. Taeyong scans some of the players standing beside their cars, quietly looking for a man in a Repsol suit.

“Ah!” Yerim shrieks. “I found him!”

She points to a yellow and orange race car near the starting line as she squeals on her seat. Taeyong squints at the direction she’s pointing to, unable to make out the two figures playfully talking to each other. Curse him and his poor eyesight! He can’t see _shit._

“Dang, he’s talking to Cha Eunwoo!” Mark cackles, clapping like a seal.

Taeyong glances at the large screen showing some of the players on the track. He watches as the camera pans towards two sniggering men, both leaning against the yellow and orange race car. The slightly taller man has his arms crossed over his chest, his cheekbones very prominent as he continues to smile. He wore a light green and black race suit, one hand holding his helmet.

Taeyong lands his eyes onto the other man, immediately noticing the dimples on either sides of his cheeks. He stood almost as tall as the other racer, and almost as pale, too. Taeyong stares at the green streaks painting the man’s hair before noticing the yellow and orange Repsol racing suit he’s wearing. Jaehyun?

Mark started to cheer loudly from his seat. Taeyong watches as Jaehyun pats Eunwoo’s back once before the camera pans towards the audience.

“It’s starting! Ah!”

The whole race became a blur of motions in Taeyong’s eyes. All he remembers during the course of _two hours_ is damaging his eardrums while everyone screamed in his ears. Really, he tried his best to keep track of the race, but it can be pretty hard when you barely know anything about the sport and if you’re preoccupied with the fact that your “husband” is somewhere out there, zooming around the circuit like his life depended on it. Who even likes these kinds of sports? It makes Taeyong’s head hurt.

After what felt like decades, the race finally ended. Taeyong stands up from his seat and promptly excuses himself as he skitters around the roaring crowd. He did not even bother to check who won the race. He goes straight to the nearest restaurant and whips out his phone, growing impatient.

**_Taeyong_ **

**_I’m at the nearest restaurant. Please come quickly. I don’t want to waste any more time._ **

****

Taeyong stuffs his phone back into his bag before entering the restaurant. He realizes, just as he steps inside, that it is in fact not a restaurant but a café. The sweet aroma of coffee immediately fills the air around him, and despite being already at the edge of his ticking patience, he decides to order himself a cup of cappuccino just in case he needs to wait longer.

Half an hour have passed, and Taeyong still continues to watch people come and go as he sits in a far corner near the windows. He has ordered himself a slice of blueberry cheesecake as well after figuring out that he really would be kept waiting for the whole day.

“This is getting annoying,” he mutters to himself, stabbing a piece of cake with his fork and stuffing it inside his mouth. He feels his phone buzzing from his bag, and he quickly takes it out in a hurry, expecting to see Doyoung’s name plastered across the screen. Instead, he sees the familiar unregistered number.

Taeyong stares at his home screen, contemplating whether to answer the call or not. In the end, he figures it wouldn’t hurt if he did.

“Hello?” He says through the phone.

_“Hey, stranger,”_ a deep baritone, far from what Taeyong expected, says through the other line. _“Where are you?”_

Taeyong bites his lower lip and looks around the area. “I’m in this café…”

_“Ah, okay. I know where that is.”_

Taeyong bites his lower lip and waits for the call to cut off. He listens to the mixed sounds of feet shuffling and inaudible voices followed by quiet breathings. After a couple of seconds, he sees the door to the café open and watches as a tall man in a yellow and orange Repsol suit starts to look around, phone pressed against the side of his face. Taeyong lowers his phone from his ear and waves at him hesitantly.

Jaehyun quickly spots him at the very far end corner of the place. He hits the end button on his phone before making his way towards the stranger, still holding his helmet with him. Taeyong stands up from his seat to properly greet the racer.

“Lee Taeyong,” he extends his arm for a shake. “I’m really sorry for this. It’s urgent.”

Jaehyun accepts his hand before taking the seat across Taeyong. “It’s fine,” he shrugs as he placed his helmet on top of the table. He glances once again at Taeyong, thinking if he’s met him before. “So, may I see the certificate?”

Taeyong fumbles with his bag, and Jaehyun takes the opportunity to quietly assess the man in front of him. He has had people professing their love for him before, multiple times if he were being honest, but he’s never thought of them that seriously considering how they were all empty words at the end of the day. He rests his elbow onto the back of his chair, tilting his head slightly to the side and thinking, maybe this overly attractive man is not one of those people, right? It seems unlikely.

Who knows?

Taeyong takes out a neatly folded paper and gently sets it onto the table, just beside his cheesecake. Jaehyun raises an eyebrow at him.

“I’m going to be completely honest here,” the racer says. Taeyong glances at the green streaks running along his hair. “I don’t know if you’re fucking around with me or what, but you sounded desperate over the text messages you sent me, so this better be worth my time.”

“Why would I joke about something like this?” Taeyong raises an eyebrow at him. He unfolds the certificate and slides it across Jaehyun’s side of the table. “It’s real. It says here that we’re… married.”

Jaehyun grabs the piece of paper from the table, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He casts Taeyong a confused look, “This can’t be real,” he says, scoffing. “This is fake!”

Taeyong sighs. “You think I haven’t told myself that, Mr…” he glances at the name engraved on the neckline of Jaehyun’s race suit. “Jung? I had it checked just this morning, which is why I am now asking you to settle the matter with me because I clearly cannot be married to some stranger. This was clearly a mistake.”

Jaehyun huffs out a heavy breath. He should have been in some nearby club by now, celebrating his win with his team and group of friends. Instead, he is inside some stupidly expensive café with a guy who is claiming that they are married when they clearly haven’t met each other before.

“The date there says June 14, more than a week ago if I’m correct.” Taeyong informs.

“June 14?” Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows. “That was my friend’s birthday. We went to an exclusive club, but I don’t really remember anything from that night.”

“Neither do I, but I do remember going to a club with my friends as well. Aside from your name and mine written on this document, we have a man named Johnny Suh as our witness. Now, if we could just get him to testify, tell my lawy—“

“Johnny Suh?” Jaehyun cuts him off. He pounds his knuckles to the table, causing Taeyong’s food to move on their spots. “That _son of a bitch._ ”

“You know him?” Taeyong raises an eyebrow.

Jaehyun scoffs and shakes his head. He shifts obnoxiously on his seat as he unzips his suit down to his chest. He wore nothing underneath, and Taeyong’s eyes flickered at the thin layer of hair matting onto his pale skin. “Of course, I know him!” Jaehyun says as a matter of factly. “Fuck, how can he even let me get into this stupid situation?”

Taeyong clears his throat. “So, it’s settled then. All we have to do is meet up with him and—“

“Meet up with him? He lives at the farthest corner of the earth!”

“How far?”

“Like, five hours away from here.”

Taeyong shoots him a glare. “That’s not even that far. We can take a train.”

“No,” Jaehyun shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest. The green streaks from his hair fell lightly over his eyelashes. “I don’t like trains.”

Weird, Taeyong thinks.

“Then, we’ll drive.”

“I call shotgun.”

Taeyong scowls at him. “You’re a racer.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to drive.” Jaehyun shrugs. “So, what’s the plan? When do we leave? I want this over with as soon as possible.”

Taeyong sighs. _God,_ he’s insufferable.

* * *

There are two things Taeyong hates the most. Clubs and alcohol. Unfortunately for him, those two go hand in hand.

You know what they say, hit two birds with one stone!

The music continues to blare past Taeyong’s ears as he downs another tequila shot in agony. He cries out in disgust, face scrunching in evident pain while his friends and colleagues cheered for him at their table. He feels the liquid burn along his throat and setting his insides on fire.

“Whoo! Go, Taeyong!” Baekhyun cheers wildly for him, already tipsy despite having entered the club for only an hour and a half. Whoever thought this was a good idea, Taeyong thinks, should get a free pass in hell.

“Where’s the chaser?” Taeyong cries out. He shudders from the bitter taste that still lingered on his tongue. “Ugh! Yuck!”

“One more! One more!” Jongin shouts, thrusting another drink into Taeyong’s hands.

The music blared louder in their ears, strobe lights going wild around the place that made their vision swim with neon hues. Taeyong finds himself growing more and more drunk as the night grows older. He should not have agreed to coming with his friends, but the offer sounded so _inviting_ to his ears knowing he’s also craving for a single night of fun. He trusts Baekhyun and Jongin. After all, they have always taken care of him, but he also knows they are quite the party animals when it comes to a night out. He’s simply not.

“Oh, god, look at Joy!” Sooyeon points at the nearby counter where their friend now sat drunkenly, a piece of cherry in her hand. “She must be fooling around again!”

Baekhyun snorts and rests his head against the couch he’s sitting on. “Is she doing the cherry stem trick?” He slurred.

“She definitely is,” Taeyong giggled, eyelids dropping several times. He pours himself another shot of tequila and quickly downs it in one go before standing up from his seat at their table, straightening the creases on his silver button down dress shirt. “‘M gonna dance!”

Taeyong’s vision is swirling around him. He giggles quietly to himself as he makes his way past the crowd, pushing at the sweaty bodies with a grunt. He hears a few voices calling out for him. Was it Jongin? He does not know. All he knows is that he was glad he agreed to come with his colleagues to go clubbing and have fun. It’s been a while since he had real fun outside of his comfort zone.

From across the dance floor, at the other side of the club, Jaehyun sits with a few of his friends, also evidently drunk from consuming too much alcohol.

“I’m telling you, Taeil, getting laid every now and then is good!” Johnny snorts. “Especially tonight! It’s you birthday, man! You gotta have fun!”

Taeil shakes his head, laughing. “I’d rather not!” He shouts over the loud music. Johnny nudges his side before wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

“No, no, trust me, dude! It’s good for you!”

Jaehyun started cackling at his friend’s flushed face. Eunwoo and Yugyeom starts to pass another round of alcohol at their table, and Jaehyun gladly takes a shot. He hears Yugyeom shouting something that went past his head while Eunwoo and Johnny continues to bribe Taeil with money.

“A hundred bucks!” Johnny offers. “I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you take home anyone in this club!”

“Only a hundred?” Taeil exclaims.

“You’d do it, then?” Eunwoo cackles, throwing his head back in laughter.

Yugyeom nudges Jaehyun as he scoots over to him. “You drunk yet?”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “No,” he snorts. “But my head is starting to pound!”

“I think Lucas might get wasted by the end of this night!” Yugyeom points at the dance floor where their friend is. Jaehyun turns and immediately spots Lucas in his striking red button down, whispering down at someone’s ear before disappearing in the crowd.

He shrugs. “He always does!”

Yugyeom takes another shot. Sighing, Jaehyun stood up from their table and makes his way towards the dance floor. A few acquaintances greeted him on his way, and even some party goers recognized him and asked for a sign. Jaehyun found it all ridiculous at one point. He wants to have fun!

“Hey, man!” Lucas grabs his shoulders when he stumbles upon him among the sea of people. “Where are the others?”

Jaehyun points to their table. “Still drinking! I wanted to have fun so I left!”

Lucas nods at him, “Yeah, go have fun! We’ll be here _all_ night!” He winks.

Jaehyun shakes his head, chuckling at his friend. He leaves him alone afterwards and starts to look around the dance floor. He spots a guy throwing his hands up in the air and languidly moving his hips to the music. The lights dimmed around them before everything went crazy once again. People all over the club cheered louder.

Jaehyun approaches the man quietly. “Hey, stranger,” he leans down and whispers to his ear.

Taeyong turns around, giggling to himself. He feels hot. “Hey,” he slurred, facing the dimpled man. His vision swam lightly as he feels a pair of warm hands gently grab his hips. “Damn, you’re hot,” he giggled.

Jaehyun mutters a curse. Taeyong went on his tiptoes, cheeks flushed and warm. He lets his breath fan over Jaehyun’s cheeks for a short while before pressing himself against his body. He places a soft kiss against the side of Jaehyun’s lips with a drunken smile.

“This should be good,” he mutters to himself before feeling a pair of soft lips crash onto his.

* * *

“Oh, shit, I think I remember you now!” Jaehyun declares, legs tucked in front of him as they drive along the busy streets of the city. He now wore a simple pair of white t-shirt and light washed ripped jeans, hair still a mess despite already being offered a comb earlier.

“Can you put your foot down?” Taeyong grumbled, shooting the racer a glare. He sits behind the steering wheel impatiently while waiting for the light to turn green. “I just got my car cleaned.”

Jaehyun ignores him and instead watches as people passed by the road in a hurry. “You’re the guy I was making out with in that club!” He says.

“Excuse me?”

Taeyong steps on the gas once the light turned green. Jaehyun snickered at him. “We made out at the club. I think you were already tipsy when I found you on the dance floor.”

Taeyong curses inwardly, gripping the steering wheel tighter. He made out with a stranger! He should have never gone to that stupid club.

“Anything else you remember? Something helpful that might show us how we got into this mess?”

Jaehyun shrugs and shakes his head. He starts to shift on his seat uncomfortably. “We should have taken my car,” he says.

Taeyong scoffs, still keeping his eyes on the road. “Maybe if we planned this better, then we could have taken your _precious_ car instead!”

“Hey, don’t blame me! I want to get out of this situation just as much as you do, too! If we wasted more time just to get my car, we won’t make it!”

Taeyong shakes his head in annoyance. He wasn’t the one who wanted to go back to the city and take his car just because the other cannot be bothered to drive his own! God.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Jaehyun suddenly asks. “Does he know you’re running away with me? What if other people think I kidnapped you? That wouldn’t be good for my image.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “I already told my friend about our situation. He expects me to be back as soon as tomorrow afternoon.”

“Sure,” Jaehyun nods. “If we don’t get lost.”

“What the fuck?” Taeyong turns to Jaehyun with a glare. “Do you even know where we’re going?”

Jaehyun shoots his hands up. “Chill! Of course, I know! Geez!”

Taeyong turns his eyes back on the road, shaking his head lightly. He can’t believe he has to spend five hours with this insufferable man!

Jaehyun takes his phone out from his pocket and starts typing a message to Johnny. The latter was already informed about their current situation, but Jaehyun wanted to make sure he _actually_ knows where they are going. So, he asks Johnny for his location.

“Here,” Jaehyun hands out his phone to Taeyong. “Just in case my memory fails me. You can look at the directions.”

Taeyong stays quiet but still accepted the phone with his right hand. They sat quietly for about five minutes and let the passing infrastructures serve as their entertainment. They’re not even halfway through the first hour of their trip and Jaehyun’s already starting to feel bored. He would talk to Taeyong only if the latter does not look so intimidating and angry at all times. It was quite unnerving, if he were to be honest. He stares at his hands, thinking why he is not even wearing something that resembles a wedding band. He wore a few silver rings on his fingers, but none of them looked new and foreign for him to think that he is married.

Then again, he does not know Taeyong personally, so he supposes not having a ring is the least of his concerns.

“So, stranger,” Jaehyun finally breaks the silence after several minutes of silence. “What’s your work?”

“Accountant,” Taeyong replies shortly. Jaehyun nods, not really knowing what to say next. Instead, he watches as they slowly leave the premises of the city as tall buildings turned into fields of trees.

30 more minutes of excruciating silence, Jaehyun thinks.

“What about you?”

Or not.

“When did you start racing?” Taeyong casts Jaehyun a glance. “Are you a professional or what?”

Jaehyun drops one of his foot onto the floor. “It started out as a habit, and I guess it still is, technically. I’m only an amateur, so it really doesn’t pay that well? But I really enjoy doing it. Other people also recognize me from time to time which also nice, I guess.”

Taeyong purses his lips. He talks a lot, he thinks.

“But I don’t plan on doing it full time, you know? Unless there’s opportunity overseas. Then, I might. If not, I always have my degree with me.”

“How old are you, by the way? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“29.”

“How long have you been racing?” Taeyong asks, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He’s older.

“About two years?” Jaehyun shrugged. “I graduated at 22. Worked at the hospital for about three years, I think? Then, my parents told me to attend medical school, so _I did._ But then I dropped out after a year because I realized I couldn’t take it.”

“Oh,” Taeyong glances at map. He takes a turn quietly. “What was your course?”

“In college? Medical technology.” Jaehyun turns back, reaching out for his bag at the backseat. He unzips it and pulls out a chocolate bar. “My dad owns a hospital, and he wanted me to be a cardiologist like him. Do you want some?”

Taeyong takes a quick look at the chocolate bar before shaking his head. “No, thank you…” he trails off.

Jaehyun shrugs before tearing off the plastic wrapper. “Suit yourself, then.”

Taeyong sighs, figuring Jung Jaehyun might be much, much more wealthier than him. Never in his life would he think of wasting money on school in just a blink of an eye. Maybe it’s just him, though.

He listens to the quiet groan of his car’s engine and the occasional humming of Jaehyun beside him while he munches on his chocolate bar. He is quite childlike, Taeyong thinks. Carefree but weird. In a good way.

“You know,” Jaehyun leans sideways on his seat. “You’re not much of a talker, huh?”

Taeyong clears his throat. “Well, I prefer not telling my life story to some random stranger.”

Jaehyun chuckles at him, eyes turning into crescents. “Please. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to hear my life story.”

“Because it’s boring?”

“You wound me.”

Taeyong cracks a small smile, eyes still glued on the road. Jaehyun finishes his chocolate bar with a smile, and just like that, their first hour on the road ends.

* * *

“Oh, my god!”

Joy pushes Taeyong onto a table, a taunting smile forming on her lips while she takes the bottle of tequila from one of Jaehyun’s friends. Taeyong snorts and closes his eyes, leaning on the table with a chuckle while fumbling with the buttons of his own shirt.

“You’re going to regret this!” He hears someone shout over the blaring music.

He lets out a bark of laughter, hair sticking messily onto his forehead with sweat. He opens his eyes and immediately searches for Jaehyun within their newly formed group. Who knew a normal night out with friends could end up like this? And with overly attractive strangers, too? Taeyong is quite glad he chose to make out with Jaehyun on the dance floor.

“Alright,” Joy slurs, holding a half empty bottle of tequila in her hand. Sungjae, the _victim_ of the night, presses closer to her. “Take the lime in your mouth, Yong!”

Taeyong opens his mouth. Cackling, Baekhyun shoves a piece of lime onto his lips. He feels a familiar set of warm hands gently caress his exposed waist. Jaehyun leans down to press light and feathery kisses down Taeyong’s ear.

“Ready?” He whispers, cheeks flushed from the amount of alcohol in their system. For the first time in his life, he could finally confidently say he is, in fact, drunk.

Taeyong only giggles before removing the lime in his mouth and pulling Jaehyun closer to him, sucking a mark on his neck. Their friends and those who were watching their group started to cheer louder, all under the influence of alcohol as well. Jaehyun bites his lower lip and slowly pulls away, but not completely removing himself. He peppered Taeyong’s torso with light kisses while the other squirmed on the table, whimpering.

Joy thrusts the bottle of tequila onto Jaehyun’s hand. “Do it!” She shouts over the music.

Jaehyun takes the bottle away from her and grabs the salt from the other table. Jongin snickered and starts to nudge Baekhyun with his elbows.

Jaehyun pours a bit of salt in his hand and carefully lines it bellow Taeyong’s belly button. The latter takes in a sharp intake of breath, anticipation bubbling up inside him. Smirking, Jaehyun pours a bit of tequila into Taeyong’s belly button.

“Fuck!” Taeyong puts the lime back into his mouth and shuts his eyes.

Jaehyun smiles tauntingly and watches Taeyong’s tight expression quietly, leaning down slowly while still caressing his lithe waist. Taeyong opens his eyes, only to see Jaehyun licking the salt resting atop of his stomach while still keeping eye contact.

Oh, god.

Taeyong closes his eyes again, feeling his face heat up from the sight. He feels Jaehyun’s lips gently wrap around his bellybutton, sucking the liquid out, before being left empty for a few seconds. Then, he feels a familiar pair of lips crash onto his, sucking on the lime resting in his mouth.

Best. Night. Ever.

* * *

“Wait, wait, wait, stop there! Stop there!” Jaehyun groans on his seat while pointing to the gas station they are about to approach. Taeyong shoots him a questioning look.

“Why?”

“I need to pee!”

Taeyong winces and does what he was told. Without another word, he pulls over the gas station and parks in front of a small convenience store. Jaehyun fumbled with his seatbelt in a hurry, muttering a few incoherent curses under his breath before stepping out of the car. Taeyong watches as he sprints across the sidewalk, shrieking loudly and earning a few questioning looks from the people present in the gas station.

“Weird guy,” he mutters to himself before stepping out of his car. He groans, stretching his arms over his head in relief, before making his way towards the small convenience store.

The wind chimes hanging on top of the glass doors made clinking sounds as he enters the store. The boy standing behind the counter greets him politely with a smile before disappearing to the ice cream machines. Taeyong looks around the store, searching for a decent snack to munch on while on the road. He remembers Jaehyun’s chocolate bar and inwardly cringes, thinking how much sugar it must have for the man to jitter tirelessly.

He walks over quietly to the snacks aisle and scans the endless bags of chips. He grabs one Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and one sour cream flavored Lay’s chips before looking around the store some more. He glances back at the glass doors and spots Jaehyun walking towards his car, one hand ruffling his hair. Hopefully he washed his hands, Taeyong thinks.

“Would these be all?” The cashier asks as he punches Taeyong’s orders. Taeyong grabs a packet of original Mentos and adds it to his pile.

The wind chimes dinged noisily. Taeyong turns to look at Jaehyun with an eyebrow raised.

“You know how some people shiver after they pee?” Grinning, Jaehyun walks over to Taeyong. “This might be weird, but I, in fact, do not.”

Taeyong takes out his wallet, shaking his head with a sigh. “And I wanted to know that, because?”

Jaehyun shrugs before making his way to the freezer aisle of the store. Taeyong’s eyes follow his back before turning back to the cashier and paying for his snacks.

“Sorry about him,” he mutters apologetically.

The cashier, Hansol, as his name tag reads, only chuckles. “Your boyfriend?”

“Oh, no,” Taeyong shakes his head fervently. “Just a… friend.”

Hansol only smiles before handing the plastic bag over to Taeyong. The latter thanks him quietly, cheeks slightly flushed at the thought of Jaehyun being his boyfriend. He barely knows him!

You two are married, he thinks to himself before quickly removing the thought out of his head. He walks over to Jaehyun who is now standing in front of a freezer full of packaged drinks.

“Have you tried Yakult?” Jaehyun asks him.

“Hm, not really,” Taeyong shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest. The plastic bag dangles aimlessly from his wrist.

Jaehyun gasps loudly. “What?” He exclaims. “How come you haven’t? Your childhood must have been boring!”

“Excuse me?” Taeyong scoffs. “I had a great childhood, for your information.”

“I can’t believe this,” Jaehyun shakes his head as though disappointed. “I married a tasteless man.”

Taeyong groans in frustration. “You’re insufferable.”

“Would you still say that after I let you taste the greatest drink ever made? I don’t think so.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “It’s really not that serious.”

Jaehyun scoffs and yanks the freezer open. He takes two packs of Yakult in one hand. “Is it, really?”

Jaehyun walks over to the counter, grabbing another chocolate bar on his way. Taeyong waits impatiently behind him while the guy from the cashier punches Jaehyun’s orders.

“Do you like Yakult?” Jaehyun asks Hansol.

“Yeah, of course. I used to drink it when I was younger.”

Jaehyun turns to Taeyong with a smug smile. “ _See?_ He gets it!”

“Why?” Hansol raises an eyebrow at Taeyong. “You don’t like it?”

“He’s never had it before,” Jaehyun comments. Hansol furrows his eyebrows at his customers, which had Taeyong shake his head in disbelief. It’s not a big deal!

Jaehyun takes the plastic bag from Hansol and turns back to Taeyong. “Come along, husband! I’m going to give you the best time of your life!”

“He’s your husband?” Hansol’s eyes widened in slight shock.

Taeyong shakes his head at him. “Don’t listen to him,” he says before following Jaehyun outside the store. “He’s insane.”

Taeyong and Jaehyun walks back to their car, both holding plastic bags full of snacks. Taeyong glances at his watch to check the time.

“We spent about half an hour in there,” he says before opening the door to the driver’s seat.

“We still have less than four hours. Hopefully, we arrive there before the sun sets.” Jaehyun pulls the seatbelt over him, securing also the bag of Yakult underneath. He tears the plastic open and breaks off one drink from the packaging. “Here, try it,” he says, offering it to Taeyong.

“Thanks…” Taeyong trails of, gently tearing the lid of the small drink. Jaehyun smiles at him before taking another one from his plastic bag. He turns the Yakult upside down and bites onto it to make small holes.

“Why do you drink it like that?” Taeyong asks, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“It lasts longer like this. You should try it.”

Taeyong shakes his head, neatly tearing the lid off. He gulps the drink in one go before starting the car’s engine once again.

“Do you like it?”

“So-so.”

“Aw, c’mon!”

-

Taeyong suppresses a groan, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. It has only been more than ten minutes since they left for the road again, but he already feels his patience slowly thinning out. Sitting on the passenger’s seat with his legs crossed is Jaehyun, who, much to Taeyong’s demise, continues to hum obnoxiously while he snacks on his chocolate bar.

Taeyong lets out a heavy sigh through his nose. Jaehyun does not notice.

“Na, na, na, hmmm,” Jaehyun slaps a hand over his thighs repeatedly, bobbing his head to the sides.

Taeyong clenches his jaw. “Having fun?”

Jaehyun turns to him, unaware. “Yeah!”

The racer continues to hum on his seat. Taeyong starts to count in his head. One, two, three, four, five, six, seve—

“Will you stop it?” Taeyong finally snaps. “It’s getting annoying!”

“Stop what?”

“Your humming!”

Jaehyun grins, breaking off a piece of chocolate and tossing it inside his mouth. “Hey, Siri!”

Jaehyun’s phone, which is currently stuck to Taeyong’s phone holder, dings quietly, flashing a _What can I help you with?_ across the screen.

“Play Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.”

Taeyong mutters a curse under his breath. “Okay,” Siri says. “Now playing Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.”

“Don’t you like this song?” Jaehyun cackles, humming along the start of the song. “This is gold!”

“Not when you’re blasting my eardrums with it.” Taeyong grumbled. Jaehyun lets out a bark of laughter and starts clapping his hands along the music.

“‘ _Cause I’m having a good time, having a good time!”_ Jaehyun sang loudly. _“I’m a shooting star leaping through the sky like a tiger!”_

Taeyong bites his lower lip to suppress a smile. He has got to admit though, Jaehyun sings well, which is a surprise. For him at least.

“Come on, stranger! Sing with me!”

Taeyong shakes his head, thinking how ridiculous it is. Jaehyun continues to sing on his seat, adding his own sound effects here and there. He is, Taeyong thinks to himself, very loud.

_“I’m burning through the sky, yeah! Two hundred degrees, that’s why they call me Mister Farenheit!_ Whoo!” Jaehyun cackles loudly, even tapping the compartment to go with the beat. Taeyong lightly shakes his head.

At first glance, Jaehyun looks quite intimidating. One could even think he is, in retrospect, unattainable. And perhaps, a man like him could be such with how profound he seems on the outside. Taeyong thinks, as he sits beside him, and despite being a complete stranger, that reality really do prove you wrong.

Jaehyun, in Taeyong’s own words, or for the lack thereof, is an enigma. An open book of qualities one cannot really fully assess. A complete stranger despite his sharp tongue and questionable habits that pours a lot of his personality.

Jaehyun is a stranger you would want to get to know.

Taeyong glances at the singing man beside him. Jaehyun continues to move on his seat, all smiles and laughter, oblivious of everything. Taeyong turns his eyes back on the road, thinking how it must feel to be so free of worries.

Taeyong wants that, too.

Jaehyun imitates playing an electric guitar during the bridge, going so far as to mimicking the sounds coming from the song. “Come on, Taeyong! Sing along with me! _I'm burning through the sky, yeah! Two hundred degrees, that’s why they call me Mister Fahrenheit!_

_I'm traveling at the speed of light, I wanna make a supersonic man out of you!”_

Jaehyun points to Taeyong. The latter only shakes his head, but does not wipe away the smile forming on his face. Jaehyun grins upon seeing him smile.

_“I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball! If you wanna have a good time,”_ Jaehyun starts wiggling his eyebrows. Taeyong snorts upon seeing him smirk like a mad man. “ _Just give me a call.”_

Jaehyun makes a phone call gesture, winking at Taeyong exaggeratedly. Taeyong laughs at him.

“Ew!”

Jaehyun laughs along with him, letting the song finish in peace. Then, he lets his gaze linger on Taeyong far longer than he would let himself and realizing just how strikingly inhumane the other looks. His face, Jaehyun thinks, is out of this world.

“Are you hungry?” Taeyong asks him after a few minutes of silence.

Jaehyun catches himself still staring with his mouth slightly open. He blinks once, then twice, before gathering himself. “Uh, yup. I haven’t eaten anything since this morning.”

“Really?” Taeyong glances at his rearview mirror. “You had a race, though.”

Jaehyun shrugs, feeling his voice go hoarse from all the singing he did. “Yeah, but I get nervous every time and I don’t want to throw up on myself.”

“Has that happened before?”

“Just once, during training.”

Taeyong winces, suddenly feeling nauseous at the thought of puking on yourself. He spots a nearby diner a few meters away.

“There,” Jaehyun points out.

Taeyong nods, turning his blinker on before taking a left turn towards the diner. He parks at an almost empty parking area, with just a couple of cars and a bicycle nearby. Jaehyun yawns, stretching out his limbs.

Taeyong quietly removed his seatbelt while Jaehyun reaches out to the backseats for his bag and rummages through his belongings. Taeyong steps out of his car and checks the time. This is already their second stop in a span of just two hours.

“I hope they have rice,” Jaehyun mutters, stepping out of the car. Taeyong turns to him and sees him holding upside down another bottle of Yakult.

“I’m pretty sure they do.”

Taeyong starts to fumble with the cuffs of his sleeves as he walked towards the entrance of the diner. Jaehyun follows quietly behind him, sipping on his drink from the bottom. Weird.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen!” The lady at the counter greets them with a grin. Taeyong smiles at her politely, scanning the place for any vacant space. There are plenty enough of the two of them, he supposes.

“Do you have a special for today?” Taeyong asks after figuring out he would not be able to read their menu. The lady from the counter nods at him.

“Two of those, please, and a glass of water. Thank you.”

Jaehyun heads towards a nearby table stationed beside the glass windows, Yakult dangling from his teeth. Taeyong follows him shortly with his phone in hand. He should probably update Doyoung on his whereabouts.

“It’s like the ‘80s,” Jaehyun comments as he scoots near the window. Taeyong takes the seat across from him, finding the cushion on their seats a bit sturdy for his liking. “Like Stranger Things.”

Taeyong raises an eyebrow. “Have you watched it?”

“No,” Jaehyun grins, shaking his head. He removes the Yakult away from his mouth. “But the vibe,” he says while making weird gestures with his fingers. “It’s similar.”

Taeyong sighs and crosses his arms over his chest, his sleeves now neatly folded to his elbows. He stares outside the glass windows silently, deep in his thoughts.

“This is weird, ‘no?” Jaehyun commented. He bites on his half empty Yakult bottle. “Like, us. It’s weird.”

“Yeah…” Taeyong trails off. “It really is.”

“But it’s like, I don’t know,” Jaehyun shrugs, running a hand over his hair. The green streaks almost disappeared underneath. “It’s like déjà vu.”

Taeyong raises an eyebrow at him. “How come?”

“I don’t know.”

* * *

Taeyong leans against Jaehyun’s chest, head pounding from all the alcohol he has drunk. He closes his eyes and slowly inhales Jaehyun’s scent. A mixture of alcohol and aftershave.

“You wanna get out of here?” Jaehyun whispers to his ear.

Taeyong hums and presses himself closer to Jaehyun’s chest. He closes his eyes for a minute, basking in the complete silence that passed by them. The club continues to roar through the night, but the tranquility between the two of them somehow lulled them both to sleep. Jaehyun proceeds to draw small circles against Taeyong’s back.

“‘M hungry,” Taeyong slurs, cheek pressed against Jaehyun’s bare skin peeking through his shirt. “Wanna eat.”

“I know a place,” Jaehyun whispers to his ear, pressing soft kisses along his temple. “You wanna go?”

Taeyong nods and pushes himself away from Jaehyun’s chest.

The two of them leaves the club without telling any of their friends where they were heading to. Not that any of their friends would care, though. Everyone is already far too drunk to even realize what is happening. Well, maybe not Johnny. Johnny’s always the sane one in their group.

They head to a small 24-hour diner near the club. Taeyong does not remember how or when they got there, considering how his head is already pounding relentlessly and how all he wants to have is _water_.

“Pancakes, please,” Taeyong leans back on his seat and closes his eyes. He lifts a finger to his face. “Extra _budder._ ”

He hears a chuckle. Taeyong opens his right eye and sees Jaehyun smiling at him, both cheeks and ears flushed. He rests his head against the glass window standing beside their table, pouting. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing,” Jaehyun shakes his head, feeling it pound even more. He is _so drunk._

Taeyong hums and closes his eyes again, growing more and more exhausted as the night gets deeper above them. Jaehyun watches him silently, without another word, the ghost of his smile playing just across his lips and threatening to show.

Taeyong, he thinks, is a stranger he would want to escape with. If given a chance, perhaps in another time, he would.

Taeyong, he realizes, is familiar.

“Have you ever wanted to just escape?” He asks, pausing long enough for Taeyong to open his eyes again. “Escape from life in general?”

Taeyong smirks and tilts his head to face him. “Every single day.”

“Wouldn’t it be so freeing? To escape our reality without any care as to what might happen?”

“Hm,” Taeyong hums. “That sounds nice…”

“It is.” Jaehyun nods. “I always imagine myself living anywhere but here.”

“Like Canada,” Taeyong’s eyes went unfocused for a split second, as though imagining the possibilities. “I always wanted to live in Canada. Adopt a dog, too, preferably a samoyed.”

Jaehyun cracks a smile. “Or live by the beach. Build a rest house there and watch the sun rise and set over the horizon every single day.”

“Maybe we do,” Taeyong softly says. “In a different universe.”

“Would I still be with you there?”

Taeyong does not miss a beat. “Yes.”

“I’d like that.”

A single rain drop falls outside the glass window. Taeyong turns to look at the rolling water, watching as it multiplies in a hurry. In a blink, the dry night streets slowly got filled with cold rain water. From afar, thunder starts to roll out.

Jaehyun keeps his eyes trained on Taeyong. “Hey,” he calls quietly. “Come with me?”

“Where?” Taeyong asks, lifting his gaze to Jaehyun who stood up from his seat. Jaehyun takes his hands gently and pulls him from his seat.

“I always wanted to do this,” he whispers while leading Taeyong outside the diner. “Play under the rain.”

“Oh…”

The two of them steps outside, and Taeyong, despite the struggle to breathe properly, grips Jaehyun’s hand and takes the first step forward.

The rain, he thinks, feels soft on his skin. Like the gentle touch of someone familiar.

He pulls Jaehyun closer to him, strands of his hair now sticking against his forehead. He gently runs his cold palm against Jaehyun’s cheek, careful and sweet.

“What are you thinking about?” Jaehyun asks him.

Taeyong sighs, quiet and without hesitation. “Marrying you.”

* * *

“Anyway,” Jaehyun leans back on his seat, finishing the rest of his Yakult. “We have how many more hours left?”

“Three?” Taeyong shrugs. “More or less three hours. Why does your friend live away from the city, by the way?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. I haven’t asked him before.”

“Can you tell me more about him? Just so I know what kind of person I am about to meet.”

Taeyong shifts on his seat. He feels his fingers starting to ache, throbbing lightly when he keeps them fisted in a ball.

“Well, for starters, he’s a really big guy. By that, I mean _really_ tall.”

“Taller than you?”

Jaehyun nods once. “Way taller than me.”

The lady from the counter returns to their table with their food at hand. Jaehyun grins at the sight of rice being presented in front of him. “Finally,” he mumbles. “Some good fucking food.”

Taeyong snorts before thanking the woman for their food. He picks up his utensils, muttering a quick prayer before digging in. Jaehyun raises an eyebrow at him.

“You’re religious?”

Taeyong shrugs. “Not really. It’s become more of a habit, to be honest.”

Jaehyun takes a spoonful of the soup, blowing on it gently to remove the steam. Taeyong, in the middle of chewing on his food, asks him another question.

“How come your friend did not tell you about me the day after?”

Jaehyun moans in satisfaction, letting the soup linger longer inside his mouth to savor the flavors. He shrugs his shoulders aimlessly. “I asked him the same thing earlier. He did not reply.”

Taeyong furrows his eyebrows at that. “Did he say anything, though? About what happened?”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “Not really. He only told me to come to him if I wanted to know what really happened. He always does that.”

“I hope he’s not an asshole.”

“He’s very kind, trust me. Just a bit questionable at times.”

Taeyong does not respond. He wonders if he would have been in this situation if only Doyoung and Yuta came with him that night. Surely, he would not have wasted himself in alcoholic drinks. Doyoung would have stayed with him all throughout the night. Like a ward.

They ate in silence after that, both too preoccupied with filling their stomach to the brim to even try and get to know each other more. Even Jaehyun, who Taeyong seems is always on his toes, kept quiet until they came back to the car.

Jaehyun holds out his palm. “Keys,” he says.

Taeyong shoots him a questioning gaze, an eyebrow raised. “What?”

“Give me your keys.”

“Uh, why would I do that?”

“It’s my turn to drive, stranger,” Jaehyun chuckles. “You look like you could use a good sleep.”

“You won’t crash into a cliff and get us killed?”

“I’m a _racer._ I know how to drive.”

“Your kind drives like a maniac!”

“What?” Jaehyun scoffs. “Just hand me your keys, man. It’s really not that deep.”

Groaning, Taeyong tosses his keys over to Jaehyun. As much as he wants to protect his car, Jaehyun is right, he needs to take a nap. Hopefully, by the time he wakes up, he will still be in one piece.

Taeyong yanks open the door to the passenger’s seat and slides inside. He grabs the seatbelt just as Jaehyun slams the door shut. He starts the car’s engine and holds out a hand to Taeyong as though waiting.

Taeyong glares at him. “What now?”

“Yakult…” Jaehyun trails off. Taeyong rolls his eyes and takes one from the plastic bag resting near his foot. He tears open his own bag as well, taking out the chips he bought earlier.

“I’m trusting you with this one,” Taeyong mutters under his breath.

Jaehyun only chuckles.

-

Taeyong wakes up to the sun rays hitting his eyes. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his head, dampening a few strands of his side burns. Groaning, he turns to his side and sees an empty seat. He immediately sits up, feeling his neck throb from his recent sleeping position. He hears the light groan of his car’s engine and the quiet hum coming from the air conditioning unit. Where is Jaehyun?

“What the hell?” He whispers to himself, looking outside the tinted windows to see where he is. He only sees a plain field.

He reaches out to remove his seatbelt, fumbling groggily in annoyance. He jumps lightly on his seat when he heard someone tap on the window.

“Hey, stranger!” Jaehyun’s voice is slightly muffled. His hair is tossed lightly to the side, probably from the wind outside. “Come out of the car!”

Taeyong scowled at him. He presses the window switch to his side. “Where are we?” He grumbles.

Jaehyun rests his elbows on the window seal, leaning into Taeyong. “Almost there,” he smiles. Taeyong purses his lips before avoiding his gaze. “I figured you wanted to watch the sunset with me for a while?”

Taeyong raises an eyebrow at him. “And why would you think I would want that?”

“Just a guess?” Jaehyun shrugs his shoulder, standing up straight. “Come on! Get your grumpy ass outside and watch the sunset with me.”

Taeyong shakes his head but still did what he was told. He takes Jaehyun’s remaining Yakult pack and his Mentos candies with him before leaving the car. He was immediately met with the chilly afternoon breeze, hair jostling to the side. Jaehyun had his back against him, quietly watching the horizon where the sun is starting to set. Taeyong glances up at the sky and sees it slowly turning into a different shade.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Jaehyun turns back to him, grinning. Taeyong only shrugs and sits at the hood of his car.

“How do you know this place?”

“I always stop by here whenever I visit Johnny,” Jaehyun walks over to Taeyong and takes his pack of Yakult. He sits beside the latter with a sigh. “Just watching the sunset or sleeping.”

Taeyong gently rips open his pack of Mentos and pops one in his mouth. He offers Jaehyun one, but the racer holds up his upside down bottle of Yakult while shaking his head.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about a lot when you were asleep.”

Taeyong casts a glance at him. “About?”

“Us,” Jaehyun gestures between the two of them. “I find it weird. How we just ended up getting hitched that easily.”

“Maybe from too much alcohol? I do dumb shit when I’m drunk.”

Jaehyun snorts. “They say you do what you desire the most when drunk.”

Taeyong purses his lips at that, keeping his eyes trained on the slowly disappearing sun. He doubts that.

“Or maybe people lose sense of what’s right and wrong,” Taeyong shrugs. “I’m not the marrying type.”

“But you were that night?”

“I’m not me when I’m drunk.”

Jaehyun chuckles lightheartedly at him. He shakes his head and turns to look at the horizon. He thinks, as the two of them leans against the hood of their car in a random plain field by the road, that maybe this isn’t so bad.

“This is nice, don’t you think?” he asks.

Taeyong hums in response. “Yeah,” he mutters. “It’s nice.”

Jaehyun takes out his phone from his back pocket. “Do you want to take a picture?”

Taeyong turns to him. “What?”

“I’ll take a picture of you and the sunset.”

“I don’t really—“

Jaehyun grabs Taeyong’s wrist and pulls him across the field. “Come one, just one picture? Treat it as a souvenir.”

“A _souvenir?_ We’re not on a trip.”

“Technically, we are. A road trip, to be exact.”

“You’re annoying.”

“But you like me enough to trust me.”

Taeyong does not respond and instead lets Jaehyun take pictures of him while the sun sets behind him. He does not smile at the camera, keeping his face neutral while he stands lifeless, but he supposes it was already enough considering how Jaehyun seems to be pleased enough with the outcome.

“I’ll airdrop it to you later,” Jaehyun says as he goes through the photos.

Taeyong stares at him, quietly watching the childlike smile forming across the other’s lips and the pair of dimples resting on either sides of his rosy cheeks. Perhaps, he thinks, this really isn’t so bad.

“Can we go now?” Taeyong snaps away from his thoughts.

“Oh? Yeah, sure.”

Jaehyun glances momentarily at Taeyong before going back inside the car, and when they start to drive along the road again, the two of them grow into an eerily deafening silence.

-

“It’s good to see you again!”

Taeyong stares at Johnny, not knowing what to make of of the guy. He greeted them with such enthusiasm that had Taeyong slightly cowering behind Jaehyun.

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” Jaehyun shakes his head at his friend. “What the hell happened, man? You let us get hitched?”

“In my defense, you two looked happy with each other,” he turns to Taeyong and flashes him a bright smile. “I tried to talk the two of you out of it, but you cried.”

Taeyong felt his face heat up at the revalation. Johnny invites the two of them inside his house, a simple bungalow enough for a small family. Taeyong notes how minimal the interior of the house is, wanting the same for his new condo unit.

“Do you guys want a drink? Coke? Water? Tequila?”

“Just water.” Taeyong responds quickly. “Thanks…”

Johnny chuckles at him. “I’m just kidding. I don’t have alcohol in this house.”

The two of them follows Johnny to the small kitchen. Jaehyun sits on a small stool near the counter while Taeyong stands behind him near the doorway.

“I found the two of you soaking wet while sitting by a sidewalk in front of a nearby diner. Did you know I almost got a heart attack when you told me you’re getting married, Jae?”

Jaehyun purses his lips. Johnny pulls out two wine glasses from one of his cabinets. “You two were so drunk that night that you even managed to lose the rings.”

“Where did they go?” Taeyong asks. He barely remembers anything.

“Into a canal,” Johnny snorts, pouring water into the wine glasses. “The two of you decided to remove it from your fingers. Why? I don’t know.”

“What about my friends? What happened to them?”

“Drunk as balls.”

Johnny hands them their water. Taeyong mutters a quick thanks before taking a small sip. “We went back to the club?”

“Yeah,” Johnny nodded. “All your friends were passed out drunk when we came back. You and Jaehyun passed out on the table as well, but someone came by looking for you. He said he’s your friend?”

Ah, Taeyong thinks. Doyoung did, in fact, fetch him from the club. The amount of sermon he got from the other the next day is enough to make his ears ring for a lifetime.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Jaehyun groans on his seat. “I got _married!_ ”

Johnny only shrugged. “I thought you would remember it the next day.”

“I hate you.”

Taeyong sighs. “Well, there’s no turning back now. At least we now have Johnny to testify that the marriage is invalid because we were both under the influence of alcohol.”

Johnny turns to Jaehyun. “I told you your first marriage is going to be a sham.”

“This is all your fault.”

Taeyong clears his throat. “By the way,” he says. “Can we stay here for the night? It’s too risky if we drive in the dark. I don’t want us to get into an accident on our way back to the city.”

Johnny nods at him. “Yeah, of course! Jaehyun can show you the guest room.”

“I can?” Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows.

“Yes, _you can_.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes before going down the stool. He turns back to Taeyong, and Johnny watches at the two of them disappear from the kitchen quietly.

“Stupid guy,” he mutters under his breath, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. He remembers Jaehyun’s words to him.

_“I like him.”_

_“You barely even know him!”_

_“That’s the beauty of it, man.”_

He wonders if Jaehyun still thinks the same now that he’s sober?

“Sorry about him,” Jaehyun says while the two of them are going up the stairs. “He’s nice, I swear.”

“It’s fine. At least now we know what to do.”

“Yeah…” Jaehyun lowers his gaze.

Silence fell upon them quicker than the rain drops that flowed onto the streets the night they decided to get married. Jaehyun leads Taeyong to a door, deep in his own thoughts.

Taeyong, he thinks, is still a stranger. A stranger he wants to get to know.

“Here,” he mutters as he opens the door to the guest room. “There’s a bathroom inside as well.”

“Thank you,” Taeyong meets Jaehyun’s eyes. “And thank you for today as well. I know we’re in a weird position right now, but it was nice getting to know you.”

Jaehyun smiles. “It was nice getting to know you, too.”

Taeyong steps inside the room and flicks on the lights. Jaehyun takes a step back from the door. “I’ll leave you now…”

Taeyong nods at him. “Okay. Thanks again, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun smiles. “No problem, stranger.”


End file.
